CALIFORNIA: Former world No. 1 Serena Williams returned to her winning ways after a 15-month pregnancy layoff. She won her opening match at the WTA Indian Wells event at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden here on Friday.

The American tennis ace advanced to the second round of the tournament with a comfortable win 7-5, 6-3 over Kazakhstan's Zarina Diyas.

The 23-time Grand Slam winner was playing her first match after the 2017 Australian Open victory, where she was pregnant.

"It was incredible," Williams said and added, "It's been over a year and a kid later - and I get to go home now to her!"

"It definitely wasn't easy. I've played (Diyas) several times before and we always have a couple of tight sets. I'm a little rusty, but it doesn't matter. I'm just out here on this journey doing the best I can," she said.

Williams missed this year's Australian Open saying that she wasn't prepared for the tournament.